[Anchor]

Many people likely headed out early this morning, the first day of the Chuseok holiday (September 24). Let's connect with our reporter stationed at the Seoul Tollgate to check the road conditions.

Reporter Lee Se-hyeon, when is the peak of the congestion expected?

[Reporter]

Here at the Seoul Tollgate where I am stationed, vehicles heading out for their hometowns are rapidly increasing, though full-scale gridlock has not yet begun.

Traffic congestion on the way back to hometowns is projected to be at its worst this morning during the holiday period.

As of 7:00 a.m., the estimated travel times are 10 and a half hours to Busan, 9 and a half hours to Gwangju, 10 hours and 20 minutes to Mokpo, and 6 hours and 10 minutes to Gangneung.

The Korea Expressway Corporation expects the congestion on routes heading away from the capital area to peak between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. today, and gradually ease starting at 8:00 p.m.

Traffic congestion for vehicles traveling from provincial areas to the capital region is expected to begin around 8:00 a.m. shortly and clear up around 6:00 p.m.

Let me explain the road conditions for major sections while looking at real-time highway CCTV footage.

First is the Seohaean Expressway at the Seopyeongtaek Junction.

Toward Mokpo, vehicles have been packed tightly since early dawn, appearing almost as if they are at a standstill.

Next is the Gyeongbu Expressway at the Osan section.

Vehicles heading toward Seoul are moving smoothly, but those heading toward Busan are struggling to maintain normal speeds.

As for the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway, vehicles heading toward Yangyang are increasing, causing travel speeds to gradually slow down.

The Expressway Corporation projected that 510,000 vehicles will move from the capital area to provincial regions today, while 380,000 vehicles will travel from provincial areas to the capital region.

Total traffic volume is expected to reach 6.16 million vehicles, an 13.8% increase compared to last year's average.